Car-coupling.



W. KELSO.

CAR couPLlNG.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. I9. 1913. 1,148,020. Patented July 27, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

W. KELSO.

CAR COUPLING. f 1,148,926 APPLICATION FILED Nov. I9, 1913. Patented July 27, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

WILLIAM KELSO, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO MCCONWAY & TORLEY COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR-COUPLING.

Speciication of Letters Patent.

Patented July 27, 1915.

Application flied November 1e, 1913. serial No. 801,857.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM KnLso, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car- Couplers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to the construction of car couplers, and especially to those couplers of the vertical plane type wherein are combined a pivoted knuckle, a knuckle opening device and a vertically movable locking pin or lock for the knuckle.

The invention is particularly directed to the attainment of the unlocking and knuckleopening actions by a limited vertical movement of the means for actuating the locking member, the coupler being thereby renn The pivoted actuating lever which pro jects into the coupler head and actuates the lock is preferably connected' with the locking member by a curved link member which is pivotally connected with the actuating lever and with the lock member to thus permit the link connection to accommodate itself to the various positions of the actuating lever, and such a constructionembodies a further feature of my invention.`

There are other and further features of invention, residing in particular features of construction and special combinations, alll as will hereinafter more fully appear.

In the drawings chosen for the purpose of illustrating my invention, the scorie whereof is pointed out in the claims, Figure l is a view of a coupler' embodying my invention,

the-view being partly in Yplan and partly in horizontal section on the line 1 1, Fig. 2; Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section of the coupler shown in Fig. l, the view being taken on the line 2-,'2,Fig. l, and the parts being in their locked positions; Fig. 3 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 2, the parts being in the positions they assume when the knuckle is rotated to open position by means of the knuckle-opener; Fig. t is a detail vertical sectional view on the line H, Fig. l, showing the relation of the knuckle opener to the tail of the knuckle and to the lock when the coupler Vis locked; Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. et, but showing the relation of the knuckle-opener to the lock and to the tail of the knuckle when the coupler is unlocked and the knuckle is thrown open; and Fig. 6 is a longitudinal vertical section of a portion of a car platform and a view in side elevation of a coupler embodying my invention.

Like symbols refer to like parts wherever they occur. i

VAs the limitation of space vfor vertical movement of the locking member of a coupler occurs frequently inpassenger equipment, the invention has been shown (see Fig. 6) as applied in connection with a passenger car, and also as embodied in that form of passenger couplers wherein the head is pivotedon the stem; but it is to be understood that this has beenl done without intent to limit the invention to such use.

I will now proceed to describe my invention more fully, so'that others skilled in the art to which it 'appertains may apply the same.

In the drawings, l indicates a coupler head which is preferably provided with a pivot opening 1a whereby it may be pivotally connected with a coupler stem.

VExtending transversely of the coupler head in the upper portion thereof is a compartment 2 within which a knuckle opener 4e may be pivoted. The guard varm side of this compartment opens laterally .through the coupler head, as at 2a, to permit the entrance into the head of a lever 7 by mea-ns of which the vertically movable locking memn ber 5 may be actuated.`

3 indicates a knuckle which is pivoted on the coupler head 1 by a knuckle pin 3a. The tail 3b of the knuckle extends into the path of movement of the knuckle vopener 4 and the knuckle opener engages therewith in the act of opening the knuckle.

4 indicates a knuckle opener having the general form of a bell crank lever. It is preferably pivoted on the head at its angle by a pivot pin 4. Its long arm 4b projects downwardly behind the tail 3b of knuckle 3, and its short arm 4c extends toward the vertically movable gravity lock 5 so as to be engaged and actuated thereby.

The long or dependent arm 4b of the knuckle opener 4 is preferably curved or bent somewhat, as indicated in Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings, and the extremity of the short arm 4c is preferably inclined or beveled transversely, as at 4d. As will be understood upon reference to Figs. 4 and 5, the result of the beveling of the face 4d of the short arm of the knuckle-opener is that the lug 5d of the lock u'pon coming into engagement with the beveled face causes the knuckleopener to tilt, thus causing the lower end of the arm 4b which engages the tail of the knuckle to perform a curved movement approximating the curvilinear travel of the knuckle in opening, the wear due to the grinding of the knuckle-opener against the knuckle being thereby decreased and the knuckle opener being also thereby enabled to more effectively operate upon the knuckle during the rotation of the latter toward open position.

5 indicates the vertically movable lock or locking member which, if desired, may have the usual guide portion 5f@ extending downwardly through a slot or opening in the bottom wall of the coupler head.

The lock 5 is perforated vertically by a curved passage or channel 5b which opens through the top of the locking block and through the side wall thereof. Vithin said channel 5b is a curved link 6 which is movable with respect to the lock 5 and which connects the latter with the lever 7 by which it is operated.

Adjacent to the lower opening of the channel 5b of the lock and in the side walls of said channel are curved elongated recesses 5c, as indicated by dotted lines in Figs. 2 and 8 of the drawings. These recesses are for the reception of laterally projecting pivot pins or trunnions which are preferably formed on the sides of the curved link member 6.

At or adjacent to the top of the lock 5 and on the side thereof next to the knuckle opener 4, the lock is preferably provided with a lug or projection 5f1 which is formed with a horizontal upper face that is adapted to engage the inclined face 4d at the extremity of the short arm 4 of knuckle opener 4 to thereby impart a twisting side motion or rotation to the knuckle opener, the double taper or double coniform shape of the pivot opening of the knuckle opener as shown in dotted lines in Figs. l and 4, permitting such side or twisting motion of the knuckle opener when the latter is actuated by a vertical movement of the lock 5.

511 indicates a recess on the under inner side of the locking block 5 to facilitate the clearance of the tail 3b of the knuckle 3.

G indicates a curved link member which is pivotally connected at one end by a pin 6 with one arm of an actuating lever 7 and which is connected at the other end with the lock 5 by means of pivot pins or trunnions '6b. Owing to the width and shape of the passage 5b in the locking block this link (3 is capable of a vibratory movement to accommodate itself to the various positions assumed by the actuating lever 7 and because of the elongated curved bearing recesses 5c in the side walls of the channel 5b the lower end of the link 6, when the locking member 5 is in locked position, can also project through the side wall of the locking member 5 and into the opening 1b in the inner wall of the coupler-head, thus standing beneath a portion of the coupler head and constituting` what is known to those skilled in this art as a lock to the lock.

7 indicates the actuating lever for the lock. It is pivoted to the coupler-head by means of a pivot pin 7a; and the portion thereof which is adapted to yproject through the opening 2a into the coupler headis pivotally connected by a pin 6** with the link 6 by means of which the lock 5 is raised.

As shown more particularly in Figs. 2 and 3, the lever 7 is preferably provided with a hook 7b forming means for connecting it with the uncoupling bar or rod R or other means for actuating the lever 7 by the usual or any preferred form of release rigging.

The devices being constructed and combined substantially as hereinbefore pointed out it will be seen that the lever 7 being actuated by the rod R of the release rigging in the usual manner will, through its arm which projects into the coupler head and through its connection within the coupler head with the vertically movable lock 5, effect such a vertical movement of the lock as is requisite to unlock the coupler and actuate the knuckle opener with but a slight encroachment of any of the parts upon the space intervening between the top of the coupler-head and the underside of the car platform.

As the lock 5 rises to the extent of its vertical movement the lug or projection 5d thereon engages the inclined or beveled extremity 4d on short arm 4c of the knuckle opener 4, and, if the vertical movement of the lock member is continued and the knuckle 3 is free to rotate, the continued vertical movement of the lock 5 will impart to the lower end of long arm 4b of the knuckle opener a rotary movement in substantial conformity to the travel of the tail of the pivoted knuckle 3.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. In a car coupler, the combination of a coupler head having a lateral aperture opening toward the guard-arm side of the coupler head to permit the entrance of a lock actuating lever which is pivoted on the coupler-head and which extends through said aperture to a point above the lock for said knuckle, a pivoted lmuckle, a vertically movable lock for the knuckle, a rotatable knuckle-opener lever having its pivotal point above said lock when the latter is in locked position, an actuating lever for the lock, said lever being pivoted on the guardarm side of the coupler head and projecting laterally into said coupler head when the lock is in locked position and its pivotal point being below the pivotal point of the knuckle-opener lever. A

2. In a car coupler, the combination of a coupler-head having a lateral opening for the entrance of a` lock actuating lever, a pivoted knuckle, a pivoted lock actuating lever mounted on the guard-arm side of the coupler-head and adapted to project into said head through the lateral opening thereof, a vertically movable lock, said lock having a lateral projection Jfor actuating a knuckle-opener, a link having pivotal connection with the-vertically movable lock and with the actuating lever, and a knuckleopener lever pivoted on the coupler-head and having one of its arms extending into the path of the projection on the lock, the

pivotal point of said knuckle-opener lever' being above said lock when the latter is in locked position and the pivotal point of said lock-actuating lever being below the pivotal point of said knuckle-opener lever.

3. In a car coupler, the combination of a coupler-head, a knuckle pivotally mounted ment executed by said knuckle-opener lever and said beveled face being adapted to be engaged by said lock to effect simultaneous swinging movements of said knuckle-opener lever both around the pivot pin of theL knuckle-opener as an axis and in the direction of length of said pivot pin.

5. In a car coupler, the combination of a coupler-head, a knuckle pivotally mounted thereon, a vertically movable lock for said knuckle, a pivoted knuckle-opener member the pivotal point whereof is above said lock when the latter is in locked position, said knuckle-opener member being adapted to be engaged and actuated by said lock, a pivotally supported lever connected to said lock for actuating the latter, a link movable in the plane of rotation of said lever and pivotally connected to said lever and said lock, and means connected to said lever for actuating the same, the point of connection of the lock actuating lever to its actuating means being adapted to trace a path which intersects the vertical passing through theV point of pivotal support of the lock actuating lever.

In testimony whereof I aiiiX my signature, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM KELSO.

Witnesses:

F. D. ECKER, Mrs. FRANCIS L. SPRAGUE.

b Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C." 

